Design Practice: Empathy Map

Exercise.pngExercise Overview

Taking a page from user experience (UX) designers, we're going to complete a quick design exercise that will help you to further contemplate your learners and their skill and knowledge gaps, and identify authentic real-world problems or tasks that should be the focus of the instruction you are designing.

In this practice exercise, you will create an empathy map by revisiting your reflections and notes from Module 1 about your learners and their needs. As with product design, instructional design is about solving problems, and empathy maps are (one of many!!) tools that can help you to focus on which problems to solve. As described in the UXPin website by Jerry Cao Links to an external site., it is useful to create an empathy map at the beginning of the design process (e.g., before the requirements are established, but after the initial analysis/discovery). Let's get started.

Check.pngExercise Instructions

  • Retrieve your notes from Module 1.
  • Revisit our personas and your reflection in Module 1 with the photo you selected to represent your chosen persona.
  • On a blank piece of paper, a whiteboard, post-it-notes, or anything that will allow you to quickly jot down your ideas, write the following headings. You can add more, but this is a good place to start:
    • Feelings
    • Real-life Problems / Tasks
    • Pain Points
    • Overall Goal
  • Now, begin to fill in the white space in front of you by answering the following for each of these headings:
    • Feelings: How is your learner feeling about his / her circumstances? What is important your learner?
    • Real-life Problems / Tasks: What specific real-life problems and tasks does your learner want to be able to do that s/he can't do now?
    • Pain Points: What obstacles does your learner want to overcome? What specific barriers are in the way for your learner?
    • Overall Goal: What is your learner's ultimate goal? What is s/he trying to achieve in both the short and long term?

Design Checkbox.png Your Design Decisions

Your empathy map can help you identify specific knowledge, skills, motivation, environment, or communication gaps your learner faces to help you set a specific focus for the instruction you are developing. An example of an empathy map for Geoff, one of our personas, is shown below. Take a moment review your empathy map and compare it to this example.

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As you review your empathy map, please consider the following questions:

  • What specific skill or knowledge gaps* does your learner face that are preventing your learner from achieving his / her goals?

For example: As identified in the sample empathy map, Geoff faces many skill and knowledge gaps as he attempts to get back into the workforce. For example, his struggles with reading comprehension are impeding his ability to complete work-related projects in an effective and timely manner. In addition, his inability to perform computer-based tasks (such as creating written documents or sending emails) will make it hard for him to compete with other candidates in the job market, and nearly impossible to run his own business.

* Try to articulate the specific skill or knowledge gaps in terms of the employability skills we discussed previously (e.g., applied knowledge skills Links to an external site., effective relationship skills Links to an external site., and workplace skills Links to an external site.). If you are stuck and need additional guidance, skim through the resources in the Supplementary Resources and Exercises section of this course under Resources: Desired Skills & Knowledge, such as the Employability Skills Framework Source Matrix (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. that provides supplementary resource links associated with each of the described employability skills, and Career Clusters (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. that provides a drill-down of specific skills and knowledge relevant to different career clusters (e.g., agriculture, hospitality, etc.) and career pathways. 

  • Based on the goals and skill/knowledge gaps you identified, list two or three real-life problems or tasks that your learner needs to be able to do (but can't) that could be the focus of your instruction?

For example: As is the case with all of the presented personas, there are many potential real-world problems or tasks that Geoff must be able to accomplish to overcome to reach his goals. Given Geoff's struggles with reading and his goals to re-enter the workforce, he would benefit from instruction to improve his comprehension skills when reading texts of the type he might encounter in a work setting, such as procedural or customer-service instructions. In addition, instruction focused on using common software applications (such as Word or email) for communication, planning/budgeting, and record keeping will help him as he attempts to reach his goal of competing in the job market and ultimately running his own business.

  • How should your instruction contemplate your adult learner's feelings and pain points that may be associated with motivation, environment, and communication gaps?

For example: As identified in the sample empathy map for Geoff, he is not dumb, but he is concerned he won't succeed. Like anyone who experiences a setback, Geoff is ashamed. Therefore, the instruction should avoid condescension (e.g., not use resources geared to a child), and have an optimistic and forward-looking focus. While Geoff can become impatient with school, he is committed to succeeding in order to reach his goals. These feelings and pain points reflect the importance of keeping the instruction relevant to an adult and his or her life goals. Further, it will be motivating and help Geoff learn to show him the whole task or problem he will be able to solve as a result of completing the instruction.